BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
A s a Scientist
By ROBERT A. MILLIKAN
ENJAMIN Franklin i s perhaps the only American in
tliat relatively small provp of men of any time or
country who, without having been either the head bf
a s t o r a military hero. hate kct gained so coil.
ieuoiis a place in history thal their name5 and saving5
e known the world wpr. 4Ithough he l n e d 200
a r s ago in %hat \\as then a remote cornei of
ie earth. far from a m of the ceiitcra < i f norld infliire, vet his name and traits arr still \\idel\ k n ~ i u n .
a I quote a paragraph from a ~hoi-tbiographj or
ichekon uhich I puhlislied in the Scientific Monthlv
or January. 1939:
I t will probalill he p i e i a l l ! agreed thal the tlnee
i c a n physicists whose work has been most epochi i g a n d whose name-' are most ceitiiin to he ireently heard wherever and whenever in future year"
ie story of physic? is told are Benjamin Franklin.
osiali Willard Gibhs, and Albert A Mi~lielsoii. Ami
t i e three have almost no charartrristic-< in coinFranklin lives as a phxsicist I ~ c J I I - ~ . dilettante
¡; lie i s sometimes called. mere qualitatixe intere er thouzh he actuallv was. vet it was he who with
Now as to some of the experiments themselves. The
very first one of them, done within a few months of the
time he first heard of electricity, contains the key to
his invention of the lightning rod. Note from the following how skillfully and strikingly he arranges his
electrostatic experiments by making the length of the
suspension of the cork ball very long. After 200 years
of the development of electrostatics these experiments
cannot he made more tellingly today than by setting
them up and performing them exactly a s Franklin
directed nearly 200 years ago. H e writes:
"The first is the wonderful effect of pointed bodies,
both in drawing off and throwing off the ~lcctrical fire.
For example,
'Place an iron shot of thiee or four inches diameter
an the mouth of a clean dry glass bottle. By a fine silken
thread from the ceiling, n g h t over the mouth of the bottle,
suspend a small cork-bail about the bigneas of a marble;
the thread of such a length, a- that the cork-ball may rest
against the side of the -hot. Electrify tlic <hot, and the
ball will be repdlpd to the distance of four or five i n < h ~ s .
more or le-s. according to the quantity of ElectricityWhen in this state, if you present to the shut the point of a
long. slender, nhurp bodkin, at i i x or eight inches distairv.
the repellency is instantly destroyed, and the cork flies to
the shot. A blunt body must be brought within an inch, and
draw a '.park, to produce the same effect. To p m w thnt
the electrical fire is drawn, off by the point, if you take the
hlade of the bodkin out of the wooden handle. and fix it i n
a "tick of sealingwax, and then present i t at the distancv
aforesaid, or if 5011 bring it very near, no -itch effect follow.: but sliding one finger along the wax till you touch
the blade, and the ball flies to the shot immediately."
Here i s where he learned that his lightning rod had
to have a good ground in order to work at all. He rontinues:
Title page of the same b o o k - o n e of the first volumes t o b e illustrated by the copperplate engraving
process.
into the fundamental nature of electrical phenomena,
not merely than any one had acquired up to his time,
hut even than any of his successors acquired for the
next 150 years, when, about 1900, the scientific world returned essentially to Franklin's views.
To justify this statement and to b r i u g t o light the
extraordinary quality both of Franklin's physical insight
and of his power of induction I shall make most of the
remainder {if this article consist of a few direct quotations from Peter Collinsnn letters whir?) the editor informs us were being printed "without waiting for the
ingenious author's permission to do so.''
The first letter. dated March 28. 1747. leads:
"To Peter Collinson, Esq.; F. R. S. London
Philadelphia, March 28, 1747
-
ihaenomena that vie look MDOB to be new. I shall tlierefore communicate them to you in my next.thoiighpossibly
they may not lie new to you. as among the numbers daily
employed in those experiments on your side the water, 'tis
probable some one or other has hit on the saiHe observations.
For my own part, I never was before engaged i n any study
that so totally engrossed my attention and my time as this
has lately done; for what with making experiments when I
1
be alone, and repeating them to my Friends and Act
who. from the novelty of the thing, come COW
tinually in crowds to see them. T have. (hiring sonic months
past. hatf little leisure for any thing else.
"I am, etc.
-.
Â¥BFranklh
.A straight three-foot s-lass tube as big As your v i i s t
Page 8
"
"To i-how that points will throw off as well a-i draw 05
the t-lectrical fire, lay a long sharp needle upon the shot.
and you cannot rlectnse the shot so a5 to make it repel
Or fix a needle to the end of a wthe rorhball. .
pended WII barrel, ur iron-rod, so as to point beyond it like
a liltle bayonet; and ~ h i l eit reinmas there, the gun-hatic!,
or rod. cannot by applying the tube to the other end he
elertrieed so as to give a spark, the fire continually running out silently a t the point,"
..
I can find no evidence that prior to Franklin tlie
electrical properties of points had been discovered a1
all. He continues:
"The repellency hetween tlic rnrk-ball and the shot i\
1ikeivi.e destroyed, I 1 I by sifting fine sand on it; this <lees
it gradually; (2) by breathing on it; (3) by niakmp a enink?
about it from burning wood: ( 4 ) by candle-lisht, even
though the candle i s a t a foot distance: these do i t suddenly.
The light of a bright coal from a wood fire;
and the light of a red hot iron do it likewise; but not a t
50 greet a distance.
...
"The light of the sun thrown strongly on both cork and
shot by a looking-glass for a long time together. does not
impair the repellency in the least. This difference between
fire light and swi-light is another thing that seems new and
extraordinary to us.*"
The insight shown in the last three lines. in which lie
correctly makes particle carriers (ions. we now call
them) from the match do the discharging while sun.
light produces no ions and therefore does not discharge, is unbelievably penetratinq for a date 200
years hack, though the conception of neutral particles
hein"rst
attracted and then repelled i s of course definitel? urong.
The next experiment, with its interpretation, is prohably the most fundamental thing ever done in the field
of electricity. Get it exactly in Franklin's words:
ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE MONTHLY
"1. A person standing on wax, and rubbing the tube, and
mother person on wax drawing the fire, they will both of
them (provided they do not stand so as to touch one another) appear to be electrised, to a person standing on the
floor; that is, he will receive a spark oil approaching each
of them with his knuckle.
"2. But if the persons on wax touch one another during
the exciting of the tube, neither of them will appear to be
electrised.
"3. If they touch one another after exciting the tube,
and drawing the fire as aforesaid, there will he a stronger
p a r k between them than was? between either of them and
the person on the floor.
"4. After such strong spark, neither of them discover any
~lectrtcity.
'These appearances we attempt to account far thu3- We
suppose, as aforesaid, that electrical fire is a common elem?nt
w e now call "electrical fire" electrons], of which every one
i f the three persons above mentioned has his equal share,
before any operation is begun with the tube. A. who stands
on a x m d rubs the tube. collects the ~ ~ l t c t r i c afire
l from
himself into the glass; and his communication with the com
mon -stock being cut off by the wax, \w body is not again
mmediately supply'd. B, (who stands on wax likewise)
passing his knuckle along near the tube, receives the fire
which was collected by the glass from A ; and his com
rnuiut.ation with the (ommon stock being likewise cut off, he
I
additional quantity received.-To
C, stand
t
1
on the floor, both appear to be electneed; for he, having
only the middle quantity of electrical hre, receives a park
upon approaching B, who has an over quantity; but gives
n ? to A. who has a n under quantity. If A and B approach
to touch each other, the spark is strortger. becaii-e the dif
ference between them is greater; after such touch there is
no p a r k between either of them ifnd C, because the electrical fire in all is reduced to the original equality. I f
they touch while electrising, the equality i s never det i v ' d , the fire only circulating. Hence have arisen some
new terms among us: we say B (and bodies like cirrum.
ctanced) is electrised positively; A, negatively. Or rather,
B is clectnsed plus; A, Minus. And w e daily in our experiments electrise hodies plus or minus, as we think proper.To electrise plus or nunus, no more needs to be known
than t h ~ s ,that the parks of the tube or sphere that are
rubbed. do, in the instant of the friction. attract the elect
fire. and therefore take it from the thing nibhmg;
the same parts immediately, as the friction upon then, mazes.
a
disposed to give the fire they have received, to any
body that has less."
"There is one experiment more which surprises us, and
i s not hitherto satisfactorily accounted for; it is this:
Place an iron shot on a glass stand, and let a ball of damp
cork, suspended by a silk thread, hang in contact with the
shot. Take a bottle in each hand, one that is electrified
through the hook, the other through the coating: Apply
the giving wire to the shot, which will electrify it positively,
and the cork shall be repelled; then apply the requiring
wire, which will take out the spark given by the other;
t h e n the cork will return to the shot: Apply the same
i
n and take out another spark, so will the shot be
electrified negativelv, and the cork in that shall be repclled equally as before. Then apply the giving wire to the
shot, and give the spark it wanted, so will the cork return:
Give at another, which will be an addition to its natural
quantity, so will the cork be repelled again: And so may
the experiment be repeated as long as tlif-re is any charge
n the bottles. Which shows that bodies having less than
the (ommon quantity of electricity, repel each other, as
well as those that have more?
In that last sentence Franklin states clearly that matter which had lost its normal amount of electricity was
self repellent. In modern terms the atom is neutral when
it has its full comwlement of electrons. When anv of these
are removed the nuclei repel one another.
I n some of his letters, notably the fifth, Franklin goes
off into long and incorrect speculations as to the dtfference between the terms "electric bodies per se" and
"
non electric hodies." But this adds to, rather than subtracts from my own appreciation of him, for no human
being could possibly have seen correctly all the ele(Continued on Page 16)
The next two long letters are taken up largely with
what he calls "M. Muschenbroek's wonderful bottle,''
accidentally discovered in Leyden one year earlier, 1746,
nou knoun as the Leyden jar, and with explaining all
such effects just as we do today in terms of the opposite charges o r the inner and outer coats. Thus,
to use his exact words:
"At the same time that the wire and top (inside ?oat)
of the bottle is electrified positively or plus the bottom
(outside coat) of thp bottle is electrified negatively or
m
, i a c t proportion: i.e., whatever quantity of electrical fire is thrown in a t the top a n equal quantity goes out
i t the bottom." And "Again, when the bottle i i electrised.
but little of the electrical fire can h e drawn nut from the
top
touching the wire unless an equal quantity can a t
the samp time get in a t the bottom. Thus, place a n dectriced bottle in clean glass or dry wax and yon will not,
h\ toitching the wire get out the fire from the top."
These chapters, too. contain the uncannily clever experiment of showing, just a s we do today, that the charge
resides in o r on the dielectric. How many of us realize
that the familiar classroom experiment of removing the
coats of a Leyden jar and touching each of them. then
putting them back again. and after that getting a strong
spark b) connecting the replaced coatings with a wire
u a s devised by Benjamin Franklin in 1749? Again, he
eavs:
-
T
h t e n t effect probably did not 3r,se f , ~ " ,
.,,,,
< t , f f ~ , ~ ",,I~ e,lac
rather from the particles iepardted from the eandte, l~cmxfin,,
attracted a n d then repelled, carryiinr off the electric matter with them
ligtii, hut
DECEMBER. 1943
Copper late line cut appearing as "Plate I" of the
book, illustrating the experiments described in the
Franklin letters t o Collinson.
Page 9
ing these non-ferrous materials into exchanges, pressure
vessels, etc. This "know how" will be very useful to
the new petro-chemical industry. Some examples of
non-ferrous equipment are: copper or Everdur reactionchambers, nickel salt-handling equipment, Monel or
Inconel evaporators, and solid Hastelloy (nearly nonferrous) for plastic-compounding.
Many of the newer cracking and reforming operations involve dehydrogenation. In these, as well as in
the direct hydrogenation process, the presence of free
hydrogen may cause the phenomenon known as hydrogen-penetration. This causes progressive deterioration of
the steel and to date, I am told, no fully satisfactory
remedy has been found. Vessels have been made with
walls twice a s thick as would otherwise be required,
but still the hydrogen seeps through.
Now a word about abrasion. Without referring too
specifically to the mechanism of the several new catalytic processes, it may be said that at least two of them
use finely divided solids as catalysts, and these fine
solids are caused to flow in suspension in fluids. During this flow, and in subsequent separation (in one
Equipprocess), the solid particles act abrasively.
ment handling this mixed flow condition may be
either of abrasive-resistant material like the workable
low-manganese alloy steels, or, the anti-corrosion claddings or liners, by virtue of their generally better
physical properties, hardness and tensile strength, may
offer long enough economic life. If temperature permits, one should not overlook the fact that rubber
linings are often resistant to both abrasion and corrosion.
CONCLUSION
The development of the new applied science of petrochemistry is just beginning. As new processes, new reactions, new catalysts are discovered, and new products
are developed from petroleum there will be more new
equipment-perhaps
unlike any we have yet seen. That
is the only conclusion with which this article can end.
Photo on page 13 courtesy the Lummus Co.
Benjamin Franklin
(Continued f r o m P a g e 9)
ments of a huge and thus far completely unexplored
field, and his wrong steps give him opportunity to show
his greatness by the way he goes to work to discover
and to admit his error. Thus, he writes as follows:
"Query, Wherein consists the difference between an
electric and a non-electric body?
"Answer, The terms electric per se, and non-electric,
were first used to distinguish hodies, on a mistaken supposition that those called electrics per se, alone contained
electric matter in their substance, which was capable of
being excited by friction, and of being produced or drawn
from them, and communicated to those called non-electrics,
supposed to he destitute of it: For the glass, etc., being
rubb'd, discover'd signs of having it, by snapping to the
finger, attracting, repelling, etc. and could communicate
those signs to metals and water.-Afterwards
it was found,
that rubbing of glass would not produce the electric matter, unless a communication was preserved between the
rubber and the floor; and subsequent experiments proved
that the electric matter was really drawn from those hodies
that at first were thought to have none in them. Then it
was doubted whether glass and other hodies called electries per se, had really any electric matter in them, since
they apparently afforded none but what they first extracted
from those which had been called non-electrics. But some
of my experiments show that glass contains it in great
quantity, and I now suspect it to be pretty equally diffused
in all the matter of this terraqueous globe. If so, the terms
electricper se, and non-electric, should he laid aside as
improper; and (the only difference being this, that some
Page
16
bodies will conduct electric matter, and others will not)
the terms conductor and nan-conductor may supply their
place."
Without doubt the most profound paragraphs in all
of Franklin's letters are the following, written in 1749:
"1. The electrical matter consists of particles extremely
subtile, since it can permeate common matter, even the
densist metals, with such ease and freedom as not to receive
any perceptible resistance.
"2. If any one should doubt whether the electrical matter passes through the substance of bodies, or only over and
along their surfaces, a shock from an electrified large glass
jar, taken through his own body, will probably convince
him.
"3. Electrical matter differs from common matter i n
this, that the parts of the latter mutually attract, .those of
the former mutually repel each other. Hence the appearing divergency in the stream of electrified effluvia.
"4. But though the particles of electrical matter do
repel each other, they are strongly attracted by all other
matter.
"5. From these three things, the extreme subtility of
the electrical matter, the mutual repulsion of its parts,
and the strong attraction between them and other matter, arise this effect, that, when a quantity of electrical
matter is applied to a mass of common matter, of any
bigness or length, within our observation (which hath not
already got its quantity) i t is immediately and equally
diffused through the whole.
"6. Thus common matter is a kind of spunge to the electrical fluid. And as a spunge would receive no wtfer i j the
parts of water were not smaller than the pores of the
spunge; and even then but slowly, if there were not a mutual attraction between those parts and the parts of the
spunge; and would still imbibe it faster, if the mutual attraction among the parts of the water did not impede, some
force being required to separate them; and fastest, if, instead of attraction, there were a mutual repulsion among
those parts, which would act in conjunction with the attraction of the spunge. So is the case between the electrical
and common matter.
"7. But in common matter there is (generally) a s much
of the electrical as it will contain within its substance. If
more is added, it lies without upon the surface, and forms
what we call an electrical atmosphere; and then the body
is said to be electrified."
In these paragraphs Franklin states with great succinctness what later became known a s the Franklin onefluid theory, and after 1900 was known as the electron
theory. In his day and for 150 years thereafter it received very scant consideration in the old world, and the
so-called two-fluid theory of Aepinus, put forward a
little later, was universally taught in textbooks the
world over up to the triumph of the electron theory in
1897 under the active leadership of J. J. Thomson, who
himself pointed out that this electron theory was in essential particulars a return to the theory put forth by
Franklin in 1749. For Franklin's electrical matter consisted of extremely subtle mobile narticles (now called
negative electrons), which in order to make matter exhibit its common or neutral properties had to be present
in each kind of matter (we now say in each kind of
atom; but the atomic theory had not been formulated in
1749) in a oarticular number. an increase in which
number made it exhibit electrification of one sign, a
decrease, an electrification of the opposite sign. In
Franklin's theory only one kind of electrical matter
was mobile, the other sign of electrification appeared
when the mobile kind was removed so that it could no
longer neutralize the effect of the opposite kind which
inhered in the immobile part of the matter (i. e., in the
nucleus).
The Franklin theory was mathematically identical
with the two-fluid theory, but while the former was a
definite and profound physical theory the latter was a
hold-over from medieval mysticism. It came from the
ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE MONTHLY
age of the so-called "imponderables"-an imponderable
or weightless heat theory, the caloric-and the imponderable electric fluids. Such vague, tenuous, contradictory
ideas were ill at home in the highly realistic, practical
mind of Franklin. They were justified, like Faraday7s
lines of magnetic force, as analytical conveniences but
not as physical realities. Franklin introduced a definite
physical theory which rendered unnecessary such fantastic conceptions as two weightless and hence non-existent fluids introduced for purely ad hoc purposes, and
then told to destroy each other, also for ud hoc purposes.
Let us now return to Franklin's discussion of points
and their properties of throwing off or drawing off the
electrical fire. He says, very modestly and wisely:
"These explanations of the power and operation of
points, when they first occurred to me, and while they first
floated in my mind, appeared perfectly satisfactory; but
now I have written them, and considered them more closely, I must own I have some doubts about them; yet, as I
have at present nothing better to offer in their stead, I do
not cross them out; for even a bad solution read, and its
faults discovered, has often given rise to a good one, in the
mind of an ingenious reader."
Then in the next paragraph note how clearly lie sees
the necessity of eliminating unnecessary hypotheses, i. e.,
he adopts the scientific principle of "minimum liypothesis."
"Nor is it of much importance to us, to know the nianner in which nature executes her laws; it is enough if we
know the laws themselves. It is of real use to know that
china left in the air unsupported will fall and break; but
how it comes to fall, and why it breaks, are matters of
speculation. I t is a pleasure indeed to know them, but we
can preserve our china without it."
He then describes some discharging
effects of uoints
"
conducted on a larger scale than he had before attempted, and in a later paper dated November 7, 1749,
he enumerates all the known points of resemblance hetween lightning and electricity, and~concludeswith the
comment:
L.
"The electric fluid is attracted by points. We do not
know whether this property be in lightning but since they
agree in all points in which we can compare them, i t is
not improbable that they agree likewise in this. Let the
experiment be made."
In June, 1752, he made it, carrying out in a shed with
his son the experiment which he describes as follows
in his letter of October 19, 1752, to Peter Collinson.
"As frequent mention is made in public papers from
Europe of the success of the Philadelphia experiment for
drawing the electric fire from clouds by means of pointed rods
of iron erected on high buildings, etc. I t may be agreeable to
the curious to be informed that the same experiment has
succeeded in Philadelphia, though made in a different and
more easy manner, which is as follows:
"Make a small cross of two light strips of cedar, the
arms so long as to reach to the four corners of a large
thin silk handkerchief when extended; tie the corners of
the handkerchief to the extremities of the cross, so you have
the body of a kite; which being properly accommodated
with a tail, loop, and string, will rise in the air, like those
made of paper; but this being of silk is better to bear
the wet and wind of a thunder gust without tearing. To the
top of the upright stick of the cross is to be fixed a very
sharp pointed wire, rising a foot more above the wood. To
the end of the twine, next the hand, is to be tied a silk
ribbon, and where the silk and twine join, a key may be
fastened. This kite is to be raised when a thunder-gust
appears to be coming on, and the person who holds the
string must stand within a door or window, or under some
cover, so that the silk ribbon may not be wet; and care
must be taken that the twine does not touch the frame
of the door or window. As soon as any of the thunder
clouds come over the kite, the pointed wire will draw the
electric fire from them, and the kite, with all the twine,
will be electrified, and the loose filaments of the twine will
stand out every way, and he attracted by an approaching
DECEMBER, 1943
On Christmas, as every day,
we'll "keep 'em rolling"
Tm
HEAVY, u R m T T R A M of war will roll as usual over
our rails through the twenty-four hours of December 25th.
S.P. engineers and firemen, conductors, dispatchers, yardmen, brakemen-thousands of men and women of the many
score crafts required to operate the West's biggest railroad
-will be at their posts of duty.
With the "tools" of our trade-locomotives, cars, tracks
and signals-we will move the war trains. We will move
service men on furlough and members of their families,
and an enormous volume of food and industrial shipments.
Yes, the people of our railroad will be hard at work on
Christmas. But for us this Day will have a bright and
special meaning-because you folks along our lines have
made the Christmas Spirit so real to us.
The friendly Southern Pacific
@ DON'T P L A N ON T R A V E L I N G O V E R T H E H O L I D A Y S LET A M A N I N U N I F O R M HAVE Y O U R T R A I N S E A T O R B E R T H
Page 17
WANTED
for the
PHILCO
STAFF
 RADIO-ELECTRONICS-ELECTRICAL
ENGINEERS
Men with degrees in electrical
engineering or comparable experience in radio and television.
MECHANICAL ENGINEERS
Men with college degrees o r comparable experience in the engineering aspects of electrical appliances,
and in designing small machinery.
DESIGN ENGINEERS
- DRAFTSMEN
Men with experience in mechanical
designing, especially of small metal
parts and of the automatic machinery t o mass-produce them.
PRODUCTION ENGINEERS
Including electrical and mechanical engineers familiar with any
phase of radio, radio-phonograph
and television production.
PHYSICISTS
Must have science degree in
physics. Some practicalexperience
in radio is desirable.
these and other key posiF
tions-senior and junior engineers for research, project and
finger. And when the rain has wet the kite and twine, so
that it can conduct the electric fire freely, you will find it
stream out plentifully from the key on the approach of
your knuckle. At this key the phial may be charged; and
from electric fire thus obtained, spirits may be kindled,
and all the other electric experiments be performed,
which are usually done by the help of a rubbed glass globe
or tube, and thereby the sameness of the electric matter
with that of lightning completely demonstrated."
In a further letter written in September, 1753, he
says: "In September 1752 I erected an iron rod to draw
the lightning down into my house, in order to make
some experiments on it." He carried on these experiments for some months to learn whether the clouds
were positively or negatively electrified, and after many
trials he says:
"I concluded that the clouds are always electrified
negatively, or have always in them less than their natural
quantity of the electric fluid.
"Yet notwithstanding so many experiments, it seems I
concluded too soon; for at last, June the 6th, in a gust
which continued from five o'clock P. M. to seven, I met
with one cloud that was electrified positively, though several
that passed over my rod before, during the same gust,
were in the negative state."
The foregoing shows what most commendable scientific care he took in his experiments and what caution
he used in drawing conclusions.
^ Ã ˆ
But he did not stop with making scientific experiments. His active and practical mind was not satisfied
until he had applied it to the useful end of the invention
of the lightning r o d a s indicated in the first paragraph
of the letter of October 19, 1752, quoted above.
After his definite proof of the identity of lightning and
electricity he was recognized by the most distinguished
English scientists by being elected to the Royal Society,
and was presented for the year 1753 the Copley medal
of the Society, the highest honor within the gift of the
world's most illustrious scientific body.
OR
design work, physicists and mathematicians - we are looking for
men who are thinking about the
future. Right now there is plenty
of urgently needed war work t o
do. But some day peace will return
-and Philco is planning t o be
ready for it with advanced Radio,
Television, Refrigeration and AirConditioning products. This may
be your opportunity t o get ready
for it too.
WRITE US TODAY
Qualified men not now engaged in
work requiring their full talents, are
invited to write us in detail as to their
experience, education, family and draf t
status, and salary. Letters will be
treated in strict confidence.
Employment subject to local W.M.C. rules.
WHITE T O MR. GEORGE DALE
PHILCO
CORPORATION
Philadelphia 34, Panna.
Page 18
Santa Fe Dam
(Continued from Page 6)
1943; at which time heavy and prolonged rains caused
flood conditions of major proportions to develop along
the river' channel. During this week the highest rain-"
fall intensity recorded to date in the United States
was measured in the mountains a few miles east of the
dam, where 25 inches of rain fell in 24 hours. Tremendous quantities of material were washed down
into the reservoir area, and wide gullies were cut in
the upper end of the reservoir borrow pit. Floating
debris partially choked up the trash racks, causing the
water to be backed up in the reservoir and threatening
two of t h e grizzly plants with inundation, but quick
work of removing trash with a dragline eliminated the
hazard. Construction work was halted by this and
succeeding storms for a total of five weeks and cleanup work continued for many weeks more; yet in spite
of delays, construction was completed four months ahead
of schedule.
Principal credit for maintaining the production schedule regardless of delays was due to the fine spirit of cooperation between the contractors, represented by Project Manager R. F. Rasey, and the U. S. Engineering
Department. J. G. Morgan was resident engineer for
the government.
E N G I N E E R I N G AND SCIENCE M O N T H L Y